Longstanding literature on gender and feminist history had already exposed that in sundry African settings, decolonisation did not signify the promised changes for women. Kenyan women were never decolonised. Their bodies and minds remained imprinted with the imperialist power dynamics, which were usurping their autonomy from new local leaders. Pre-colonial Kenya illustrated a divergent picture of women’s status in society: in many communities within East Africa, “women had a voice and were respected in their own rights, even if in some communities, male dominance was evident” (Kilonzo and Akallah, 2021). The existence of matrilineal communities showcases this dichotomy prior to colonial rule.  Land concessions and loss of control of their economy “effectively excluded women from meaningful participation in African societies and led to an unfamiliar economic dependence on men” (Saungweme, 2021). In colonial Kenya, patriarchy and colonialism changed gender dynamics and “introduced unprecedented levels of gender inequality with economic and social consequences” (Saungweme, 2021). Crucially, the advent of British colonialism intertwined with the European approach to gender relations leveraged the status quo for Kenya’s society. A society in which women had no voice, no power, no tangibility.

Beyond the binary of Kenyan resistance and colonial hegemony, we find how postcolonial realities did not elucidate equally to all. The aftermath of “war,” “conflict,” and “colonisation is a gendered concept, “since for women, it can signify little change when gendered violence, inequality, and marginalisation continue in post-conflict societies” (Moskowitz, 2023). When the Million Acre Scheme opened in 1962, single women—whether unmarried, divorced, or widowed—were considered ineligible to purchase land through the program. The program aimed at providing Kenyans with agricultural agency to transform the nation. Yet, the policy was geared towards maintaining the gendered status quo:

“The policy not only protected men’s authority and offered them a monopoly on property rights, but also ensured the conservation of marriage institutions and the nuclear family with a male head of household, forcing women into positions of dependency with male relatives” (Moskowitz, 2023).

The gendered responsibilities in post-colonial Kenya—men provide, women depend on men—illustrated how British rule had impregnated the constellation of societal rules and expectations. Women could observe how men acquired land previously owned by white settlers; slaves were now free; and husbands spoke of independence as a momentous glory for Kenya. Yet, women’s positions were stagnant. Interviewed by Moskowitz in December 2012, a Kenyan woman, Helen Kirua, argued how independence did not equate to change: “Everything belonged to my husband, even the children. I was just there. I owned nothing.” Post-colonial gender constructs of women and men further positioned women as inferior to men and “took away women’s ability to make decisions for themselves about land rights, reproductive rights, and sexual health” (Saungweme, 2021).

Postcolonial Nairobi was a failed promise to Kenyan women. Today, this failed promise is illustrated by systemic societal discrimination towards women coupled with deep-rooted effects of colonialist epistemological practices. As the inequalities introduced during colonialism have been perpetuated and gendered exclusions have been further entrenched, “women in post-colonial Kenya began to express distinct temporal imaginings of decolonisation as a period where “nothing changed” (Moskowitz, 2023).

Kenyan women were the paramount martyrs of colonial rule. Post-colonial independent Kenya has not liberated women. “Patriarchy is the common thread of both colonial and post-colonial times” (Saungweme, 2021). British gender roles shaped post-colonial and independent Kenya, subjugating women to a Western imperialist status quo linked to domination, submission, and lack of agency. Starking contrasts between pre and post-colonialism indicate how European dictum is a direct cause for the pains Kenyan women face today. Thus, the exigency of a post-colonial gendered lens is needed to comprehend the consequences woven into the social and political liberation struggles of contemporary Kenyan women.